Fret sizes?

I read all the time about the size of different manufacturers frets. There's jumbo, medium, low, low-wide, and on like that. What difference does it make in sound and playabilty? Why do most people seem to like large frets?

Larger frets generally sound better. Most people it seems like smaller frets though, you'll more commonly find people talking about a bass with 24 frets, than a bass that has 21 (or around there).

And if both are on a 34" scale bass, obviously the one with 24's gonna have smaller frets.

It's all subjective. I think that larger frets are better... I think they just get a better tone, and are easier to reach for me. Whenever I play my Longhorn (24 fret, 30") I always reach too many frets over 'cause the frets are like baby frets.

Larger frets generally sound better. Most people it seems like smaller frets though, you'll more commonly find people talking about a bass with 24 frets, than a bass that has 21 (or around there).

And if both are on a 34" scale bass, obviously the one with 24's gonna have smaller frets.

It's all subjective. I think that larger frets are better... I think they just get a better tone, and are easier to reach for me. Whenever I play my Longhorn (24 fret, 30") I always reach too many frets over 'cause the frets are like baby frets.

Just my 2 cents.

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OK, hujo, and now for the real differences.

Jumbo frets are popular for 3 reasons. First, thye wear longer, second, they can be dressed more times before replacement due to having more material to work with, and third, they make string bending a little easier. Yes, I know that's something that mostly gu*tar*sts do, but amazingly enough, there are bassists who bend too.

The disadvantage of big fretwire is that intonation is not as exact, due to the large contact area with the string. This can be partially remedied by dressing a skinnier witness point onto the crown, but will result in quicker fret wear.

Some people like very narrow frets, such as mandolin frets for the accuracy in intonation that they offer, but you pretty much have to replace them rather than dressing them, and they wear out quicker than jumbos as well.

Of course, to do away with intonation problems and refrets altogether you could develop a good ear and go fretless.

frets make a big difference for me. I love smaller frets because they allow me to achieve more speed and give me less noise to worry about. I have better intonation too, but...as my grandfather says, "whatever floats your boat"